Human Trafficking Survivors Deported From Iceland

On May 13, Icelandic authorities deported four asylum applicants to Nigeria via Germany. The people, whose applications were denied by the Directorate of Immigration (ÚTL), have lived in Iceland for four to six years.

Three of the deportees, all Nigerian women, are survivors of human trafficking and sought refuge in Iceland on those grounds.

Lawyer Helgi Þorsteinsson Silva pleaded to authorities to delay the deportation due to medical reasons. His client, Blessing Uzoma Newton, suffers from an abdominal tumour. ÚTL denied the case.

Activist group No Borders Iceland protested the actions at Keflavík Airport on the eve of May 13. “We’re here tonight so this doesn’t happen silently,” said No Borders activist Ragnheiður Freyja Kristinsdóttir in conversation with Vísir.